Safehouse yields stolen car, illegal drugs in Tarlac

CAMP DIEGO SILANG, La Union, Philippines – The safehouse of the four kidnap and car theft suspects arrested by policemen in Urdaneta City on Thursday yielded a stolen car and undetermined volume of shabu and marijuana.

Senior Superintendent Jesus Manubay, head of the Highway Patrol Group in Region 1, told The STAR that the joint operatives of HPG-Pangasinan led by Chief Inspector Romeo Mon, HPG-Tarlac and policemen in Moncada, Tarlac discovered the safehouse of the suspects over the weekend in Barangay Camanggaan East in Moncada during a follow-up operation.

“The vehicle, a red Nissan Sentra owned by the Lion Chemical Corp. was seized by the same suspects after they pointed a gun to the driver, a certain Rhoda Visconde and a female companion, while they are at a foodchain along Barangay Pag-asa, Quezon City on the night of June 13,” Manubay said, quoting his report to HPG Director Orlando Mabutas.

Manubay said the raiding team, witnessed by barangay officials, also recovered inside the car eight plastic sachets of shabu and 29 sachets of marijuana.

The suspects, identified as Mark Rey Bautista, 25; Edwin Solis, 23; Jayson Ceneta, 22; and Arjay Afable, 21; kidnapped two prominent persons closed to a high-ranking police official at a gasoline station in Saitan, Rosario, La Union.

The incident happened at around 4 p.m. at a gasoline station where the victims took a brief stop while they were enroute to Baguio City.

The suspects took away the victims’ vehicle, a gray Toyota Hi Ace van (RGE 343), and escaped toward the south leaving two of the victims’ companions who reported the matter to the police.

The Rosario police station immediately coordinated with the HPG and their counterparts in Pangasinan until the vehicle was intercepted at a checkpoint in Urdaneta where the victims were safely rescued and the suspects were subdued.  

Manubay said Visconde and his companion identified two of the suspects as the perpetrators in the car theft while one of the suspects admitted they held the victim and stole her vehicle.

Manubay said they will file charges against the suspects in Quezon City while the Rosario police filed carjacking, kidnapping and illegal possession of firearm against them.